Horticulture Minister Sham Lal Sharma, while chairing a review meeting yesterday, said horticulture is the mainstay of the state's economy and all efforts will be made to promote this vital sector.

"In the era of competition in the market, quality control is must and we have to focus on this vital area to maintain the credibility of State's horticulture produce," Sharma said.

He also discussed the strategy for transportation of apples to various destinations and stressed for regular interaction between officers and traders to sort out problems being faced by them.

The minister also called for strengthening the monitoring mechanism at the initial terminal point Lower Munda so that a proper record for each carrier is maintained. Sharma directed the department to create an exclusive website in order to bring more transparency in the functioning of the department and to respond to customers' queries with regard to the quality of products and other aspects.

In the meeting, Sharma was informed that last year, the department dispatched 9.69 lakh metric tonnes of fresh and dry fruits to different states and generated revenue to the tune of Rs 41.75 crore.

Despite low production of fresh fruit in the Valley the department has tentatively fixed a target of 9 lakh metric tonnes for the current financial year, the minister said.